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Forest Home Cemetery celebrates Black trailblazers
Milwaukee's Forest Home Cemetery is a place for uncovering and celebrating the stories of Black trailblazers who shaped the city.
MILWAUKEE - On a gray November morning, dozens bundled up at historic Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee. But this gathering wasn’t for mourning—it was for uncovering and celebrating the stories of Black trailblazers who shaped the city.
"This is the oldest operating cemetery in Milwaukee," said Sara Wong, who led the group on a tour titled Stories of Strength: Honoring Black Milwaukeeans.
Wong, armed with a binder of research and a microphone, has made it her mission to highlight often-overlooked figures in Milwaukee’s Black history.
"I want to give voice to the stories of the people who might not be as well known," Wong said.
The walking tour, spanning about a mile and a half, brought these historical figures back to life through storytelling and community engagement.
The first stop was the Watson family plot. Wong explained, "I believe there’s 11 family members buried here."
Sully Watson, who purchased his own freedom, and his wife, Susanna, have Milwaukee roots dating back to the mid-1800s. Their son, William Watson, became a stonemason who helped build the Iron Block Building on Wisconsin Avenue.
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Among the Watson descendants is Mabel Watson Raimey, the first African American woman admitted to the Wisconsin Bar.
Wong is a school social worker. Her passion is researching and sharing Black history.
"I identify as multiracial—Chinese, French, and Irish. I think I’ve always connected with different perspectives and how people are represented and remembered," Wong said.
Her tour dives into Milwaukee’s Black history, dating back to the city’s earliest known Black settlers, who arrived years before the Civil War. They played a critical role in building landmarks that still stand today.
For Yvonne Thomas, the tour provided a chance to reflect on the resilience of those who came before her.
"If they went through what they went through, then I can walk these few blocks for them," Thomas said." I think of all the things they went through that we can’t even imagine."
Other stops on the tour included the grave of Louis Hughes, the author of 30 Years a Slave, along with his wife Matilda and their daughters. Nearby rests Ezekiel Gillespie, who won a landmark case securing voting rights in Wisconsin and founded St. Mark A.M.E. Church.
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The tour also stopped at the grave of George Marshall Clark, Milwaukee’s only known lynching victim.
"You’ll notice the inscription here is ‘lest we forget,’" Wong said.
For attendees like Mary Krolikowski, the tour was both enriching and eye-opening.
"I didn’t get that in school, and it is important to know," Krolikowski said.
She left with new knowledge about Ardie and Wilbur Halyard, who founded Columbia Savings and Loan—the first Black-owned financial institution in Wisconsin—and fought for housing and equal rights.
Wong hopes her tours leave people with a sense of empowerment.
"I hope people can take away a story of hope and agency," she said.
"They didn’t give up; they were persistent, they were committed. That is the reason why we’re here," Thomas said.